The University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD) has launched 'Middle East Media Educator (MEME)' a refereed journal that will be published annually in Dubai. The inaugural August 2011 issue features research articles and commentaries on the state of the media, media professions, media education, and other topics relevant to the region.

The aim of the publication is "to bridge the gap between media educators and practitioners", according to Alma Kadragic, its editor and Academic Program Developer at UOWD.

The publication is modelled on 'Asia Pacific Media Educator' which has been published at the University of Wollongong in Australia since 1996, and whose founding editor Dr. Eric Loo has joined MEME's editorial advisory board and also contributed an article.

"MEME is the first such journal in the Middle East, and it will strive to encourage dialogue between industry and academe in a region where informed analysis of the media is not widespread. Educators struggle to find textbooks and case studies that are relevant to the unique situation in the Middle East because most teaching resources are developed in other parts of the world," says Kadragic.

"We are delighted to publish the inaugural issue of Middle East Media Educator because it will contribute to the discussion of media in the region," commented Raymi van der Spek, Executive Director of Administration and Strategic Development at UOWD. "As the first private university in the UAE and with our new Master's program in Media and Communications, we are eager to be at the forefront of the development of media and media studies here."

The launch issue has four sections: Role of Media in the Arab Spring, Developing Professional Communicators in the UAE, Education and Media and Conference Reports.

Contributors to the first section include Rasha Owais, a former journalist now working for PR agency TBWA Raad Dubai, who writes on the media role in political changes in Egypt and Tunisa; Dr. Serajul Bhuiyan, Chair, Department of Communication and Dramatic Arts, Auburn University, Montgomery, Alabama, who takes an academic's view from the US to analyze the role of media in Egypt; Magda Abu-Fadil on New Draft Media Laws for Lebanon having a hard time getting through Parliament; Brian Bowe and Jennifer Hoewe on how three leading American newspapers reported on the Bahrain uprising.

In Section 2, Sana Bagersh discusses Changing Roles in the UAE Media; Sonya Edelman, a former reality TV producer, tells how she works now; PR guru Rebecca Hill on changes in the PR industry; Phil Ryan, head of the digital team at PR agency Four Communications describes digital tools; Dr. Tina Lesher, who teaches at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey, describes how she wrote her novel 'The Abaya Chronicles'; and Maitha Al Mehairbi from twofour54 and Dr. Lesher's former student reviews 'The Abaya Chronicles'.

In Education and Media, Dr. Swapna Koshy who teaches business communication at UOWD explains how essay writing can be taught to students in groups; Peyman Pejman, who was a senior planner with the US State Department in Washington D.C., describes university students investigating the aftermath of the assassination of Daniel Pearl; Dr. Eric Loo, who teaches journalism at the University of Wollongong in Australia, analyses reporting on religion; and Dr. Ali Asghar Kia and Saeed Saeghe'i present a communicative analysis of Iranian poet Hafez's work.

The final section features excerpts from the closing media sessions at two conferences held in the UAE in June 2011: The Role of Media in Arab Society, a one-day event at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi, and 'Begin the Dialogue: Science, Culture and Modernity,' a three-day conference at the American University of Sharjah.